E2M1: Beyond the Gate (Masters of Chaos)

E2M1: Beyond the Gate is the first map in the Hellbound episode of Masters of Chaos. It was designed by Doom_Warrior and uses the Hexen music track "Level".

Green key
Turn left and go between the pillars, dropping to a stone floor. Take the Ethereal Crossbow ahead and then make a running jump over the sludge pit. Turn right to see a stone lift between two pillars; there is a switch on the south pillar that will lower the lift. Ride it up, watching out for a green chaos serpent at the top, and hear around the corner where weredragons are guarding a door. Go through the door to see the green key on a raised step; taking it will open alcoves in the north and south walls of the room, which contain disciples of D'Sparil and Ethereal Arrows.

The castle
Leave the room and turn right, go to the end of the hallway and duck into another passage just on your right - this leads to a stream with two Timebombs of the Ancients. Step into the stream and let it carry you over a waterfall and into a pool of water. Slay the chaos serpent and go through the door behind it requiring the green key, then follow the passage outside.

Squeeze through the gate ahead, but do not go forward immediately as some inescapable magma pits will lower in front of you. Navigate past them and head north through a cave which contains gargoyles and weredragons. On the other side, keep going north through an overhanging rock formation and you will reach a castle-like structure. Go through the door between the fire braziers and turn right, following the hallway up two sets of stairs. At the top, a wall on your right will open to reveal golems and fire gargoyles. Dispatch them, then head through the doorway in the north-west corner.

The next room contains a number of nitrogolems - fight or avoid them and head west through another doorway, then turn right and right again to enter a room with a window. Head down the stairs and turn left to go through the doorway, leading to an area with a wooden bridge over water.

Exit
Step on to the bridge and take the Silver Shield in the middle, then head east and go through either door in front of you. When you go through the doors, three more doors will open in front of you to release some golems. Once they are destroyed, go through the northern-most door that opened and press the switch behind it.

Leave the room and go west across the bridge to a larger door that has now opened, watching out for two undead warrior ghosts that emerge from it. Go through the door and open a brown skull door on your right, leading to a room covered in gold coins. Destroy the waiting sabreclaws and chaos serpent then go north through the broken wall to a cavern with a magma stream.

One or two more chaos serpents are waiting across the stream - kill them and go through the exit door on the other side of the stream, then press the switch behind it to finish the level.

Other points of interest
From the start of the level, head east and drop off the starting ledge. A Silver Shield can be found south of the pillar with a brazier on it.

From the above, make a running jump over the sludge pit and lower the platform ahead. Ride it to the top, watching out for a chaos serpent at the top, then follow the passage to a pillared room containing a Dragon Claw. Taking the weapon releases four nitrogolems from the corners of the room.

Secrets

 * 1) As the level starts, look at the columns on your left. Look around the middle column to find a switch hidden in its west face. Pressing the switch lowers two of the columns to reveal Gauntlets of the Necromancer and a Tome of Power; both columns count as separate secrets. (sectors 9 and 10)
 * 2) See secret #1.
 * 3) From the switch that reveals secrets #1 and #2, head west to drop off the ledge, then go west past a gray pillar and jump over the sludge pit. Go to the root wall ahead and press the switch in the stone pillar on your right, which will lower a lift nearby. Ride the lift to the top, watching out for a green chaos serpent, then open the wall with the red banner on your left to find a Shadowsphere. (sector 17) Watch out for the gargoyles that are released when you approach the artifact.
 * 4) Follow the directions for secret #3, but drop into the sludge pit this time instead of jumping over it. Head south into a small chamber with a teleporter, then press the south-west wall to reveal a Chaos Device. (sector 38)
 * 5) After entering the castle, turn right and follow the passage to a larger room, then go through the doorway in the north-west corner. Turn left to see a green chamber containing a Quartz Flask; taking it will lower the walls on either side and release a number of golems. Once they are destroyed, open the south wall in the east alcove to find a dark tunnel leading to a Phoenix Rod and three Flame Orbs. (sector 313)
 * 6) Just before going through the doorway to the area with the wooden bridge over water, look in the south-east corner to find a switch - pressing it will lower a teleporter on your left. Step into it to be placed inside a guard tower visible through the doorway. (sector 462) Go straight forward to collect a Ring of Invincibility and enter another teleporter which will put you on the bridge.

Bugs
The water pool before the green key door is inescapable without the key. If you fall in and have not collected the Chaos Device from secret #4, you will need to restart the level.

Current records
The records for the map at the Doomed Speed Demos Archive are:

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level, not including chaos serpents which are spawned via scripts: